*Navigation - Caves of the Past

This time she didn't wander too far away from Vyper, but there had been a cave entrance that she saw on her way back to the cove one day. She had wanted to explore it then, but it was nearly dark and she knew that she wouldn't be able to do anything without light. Setting off by herself, Geit saying he had no interest in following her to the end of the earth and back, Jaelle once more slipped away from her responcibilites. She had no idea how to run a pack, or do what even do with her time there. She mostly just checked in to make sure everyone was still alive and walked across their border. It wasn't much to keep safe though, the ocean to one side of them. Plus they were almost all adults there who could hold their own, they didn't need her to babysit. A grin on her maw, she navigated through the north with ease until she once again stood at the mouth of the cave. Without hesitation she slipped in, her bells ringing softly as her paws left the snowy ground. It was odd, at first, to have her paws hit solid rock. She needed to pause for a second as she wiggled her toes, the feeling so off that she needed to gather her barrings. How strange, it was almost like her body had forgotten what anything other than snow felt like. Picking up the loose end of her scarf she tossed it behind her back, blinking her blue and brown eyes as she peeked at the caverns that extended around her. What she saw left her gasping, strange shapes on the walls around her. She stopped at one of these markings, squinting at the creature that seemed to be on their somehow. Was this one of the places that humans had touched? It had been awhile since she had even thought about the strange, nearly hairless beasts of old. There had been tales in the troupe about them, but even those were dying off. But how else could these paintings get in here? She kept looking at the beast, who's nose seemed to touch the earth and tusks almost like that man Aki's, although much bigger. They seemed to have fur on them, but it wasn't something that she had ever seen. Were these within a whole other lifetime? Humming to herself, she dipped her head down to try and figure it out, deaf to everything around her as she disappeared into her thoughts. "SPEAK"

Vincenzo was feeling restless again. No matter how hard he tried to settle down in one spot he could feel the urge to move compelling him to wander and so he slipped outside of Vyper's territory. He wasn't quite sure where he was going but it didn't really matter. He just needed some space to think. After traveling aways he found himself staring into the entrance of a cave. Hmmm…. cocking his head to the side he eyed the cave for a moment before pushing himself through.

Carefully moving his way through the cave he froze as a crack allowing light to slip through the ceiling illuminated strange markings on the wall. Vincenzo gasped. What on earth… he got onto his hind paws and carefully he reached out, tapping at the wall. Were there more? Curious, Vincenzo followed the markings on the way then froze as he noticed a woman staring at one of the markings. He couldn't help himself, he chuckled. Tu sei la seconda donna che ho incontrato in una grotta. What was it with the women of Boreas and caves? Did they loiter around in them hoping to ensnare a mate? He wasn't sure why he'd spoken out in Italian… habit he supposed though suddenly he recognized the woman. "Oh! I am sorry…. I… you are Vyper woman, yes?" He'd seen her in the pack but having kept to himself he hadn't really made proper introductions with anyone other than the alpha.

"Speech"

She had moved on from the strange beast, staring now at something that appeared to be a wolf type creature, although rather large. It wasn't out of the question, she had met some pretty tall wolves here in this day and age. Humming softly, she curled her tail around her as she brushed her nose across the surface of the cave wall. These were so interesting, there was no scent to them but how did they made it on the wall? She squinted at a figure standing beside the wolf she had found, an odd hairless looking thing with a pointed stick in its paw. It was standing on two legs rather than four, was this a human that she had heard tales about? There was no way to figure it out now, they had been dead and gone for so long that even their stories were fading with them. A soft sigh left her lips, ears twitching as a voice reached her. Startled, she jumped slightly as her bells rang out in alarm, her blue and brown eyes wide as she stared at the black and white man. Was that Italian she had heard? Narrowing her gaze slightly to mull over it, she had to pull up her lessons in mind to piece it together. The second woman that he had met in a... hole? No, cave. In a cave. She smiled softly, clearing her throat as she tried to bring forth this unpracticed language. "Si fanno l'abitudine di incontrare femminile in grotta?" It was clear that she was rusty, her words were a bit off. It had been quite awhile since she had run into anyone who had spoken Italian, Starling had been the last and that was nearly two years ago. She smiled softly at the stranger, until she noticed that there was a hint of Vyper mixed in with his scent. Oh, he was part of the pack and she didn't even know who he was! Cursing herself silently, her head tilted to the side as he spoke in the more common tongue, it was nearly as broken as her Italian. "I am, I am Jaelle. I'm sorry that I don't know who you are..." She was the acting secondary to help out Xephyris, but she still hadn't obviously fallen into the roll just yet. To be honest she would much rather be out exploring than to be stuck in one place, but a promise was a promise. Standing to face him, Jaelle's tag gave a few wags as the sound of her bells echoed over the cave walls. The monochrome woman bit her lip slightly and stilled the appendage, it was too loud a sound in this close of quarters. "SPEAK"

Vincenzo almost missed the woman's name as he stood there in shock with his mouth hanging open like a suffocating fish.  She'd…. just spoke Italian.  She'd just ask him if he made a habit of meeting women in caves which of course he didn't they just always seemed to be there.  Jaelle.  Jaelle was her name and as he blinked in his shocked stupidity he managed to mumble his name.  "Vincenzo… Vincenzo Bernini." He wasn't going to cry in front of her, certainly not!  Though the bubbling of joy that burst up through his chest made him want to and with his tale wagging violently back and forth and a grin on his face he leapt towards her like a pup.

Mia signora! La mia dea! Non avete idea di quanto è buono per sentire la mia lingua. Ero in un deserto e tu mi hai dato acqua. Non so cosa dire. Mesi senza parlare italiano e ora mi capita di incontrare qualcuno che lo fa e riesco a malapena a parlor.

He tried to keep speaking but the excitement choked him up.  Come fai a sapere italiano? Di dove see?

"Speech"

Apparently he was as surprised as she was, his mouth hanging open as the rusty Italian left her lips. He introduced himself slowly, as if dealing with the shock before his whole attitude changed. An amused smirk crossed her lips as he jumped towards her, acting much like an excitable child. His words were flung at her so fast that she struggled to keep up, trying to quickly sweep away the cobwebs in the language center of her mind. It wasn't her main tongue, so it took a little bit to fall back into it. She got the gist of what he was saying, her cheeks flushing as he pretty much sang her praises. The woman shrugged her shoulders, her bells ringing softly as she settled down on her rump. She knew what it was like to not be able to speak your language, she had yet to run into anyone here who spoke Dutch. Honestly she missed it, and if she hadn't been born knowing the common tongue, she was sure that she would be in the same place as he was. Trying to formulate her reply, her eyes danced across the painted walls before falling back to the black and white man. The light from the entrance of the cave made it look like he was glowing, lighting him from the back side as he tossed another question at her. Her brown and blue eyes returned to him, a soft laugh sounding similar to her bells following. "Sto comprensione. Può essere difficile in questo mondo senza speakings simili." Jae chewed over her words, and she knew that they weren't quite right, but the main focus of what she wanted to say was there. The female fell silent again, letting out a gentle hum as she fought to pick back up on her smoother side of Italian. "Io vengo da nessuna parte, non solo un posto. La mia band viaggiato molte terre, e ho lavorato duramente per imparare la lingua di quelli incontrati. Sono la felicità per te che posso essere assistendo," She flinched slightly, laughing a bit louder. "Ho la ruggine, è stato un po 'da quando ho incontrato uno come te." With time she would find herself again, but for now there may be a few pauses between everything that she said. It was difficult to completely forget what she had learned, but without the practice of using it daily it fell slightly to the wayward side. She'd been so busy trying to keep Vyper well and alive when Xephyris kept him busy, but not even knowing Vincenzo was enough of a sign that she had failed. Oh well, at least she was able to help him here now. Maybe he knew about the strange creature painting on the wall? Her gaze flickered to the long nosed creature and the massive cat like animal, wanting to ask but staying silent for now. There was probably more that he wanted to say, and she was more than happy to hear him out. Her own tail beat against the hard packed earth, the ringing of her bells echoing off the barren landscape. "SPEAK"

Vincenzo was to excited to feel embarrassed by his behavior. He was sure the Fratelli Rossi would shake their heads in disdain if they'd seen the puppy-ish way he was acting but he was a man cut off from his family, his brothers, his adoptive culture. Any snippet of it he could find in this strange land was to be clung to. He nodded eagerly at her words. It was a feeling he understood all to well and even though some of her phrasing was off it didn't dim his enthusiasm. Italian was not her first language, he could tell that but the fact that she knew enough of it to hold a decent conversation was a blessing.

Jaelle stated that she was from a roving band of travelers, that she came from no singular place. He found the prospect interesting. He preferred to be settled in one spot personally but circumstances had forced him to get used to life as a wanderer, at least until he settled in Vyper. Qual è la sua lingua madre, Jaelle? Hai incontrato qualcuno che lo parla? Se vi piace posso provare a imparare. He was willing to learn her language so he could return the favor she'd so graciously given him though he knew he would be awkward and clumsy at first. Sei stato in Vyper lingo?.


"Speech"

She didn't mind that he was so excited, she would be the same if she ever ran into someone who spoke Dutch. She hadn't been able to speak her favorite language for... oh man, it had been years now. Her ears flickered as she sympathized with him, it was hard to go through life like that. Stretching out her front legs, she looked behind her at the painted walls and wanted to look at them more. There were so many twists and turns, but after she lost light it would be hard to pick off images off the walls. Flicking her gaze to the wall across from her she squinted at the strange art, looking back to Vincenzo when he spoke again. She laughed softly at his words, it was quite clear how thankful he was that she spoke Italian. "Olandese, e no. Sono passati anni da quando mi sono imbattuto in lupo che lo parla come me. Non è proprio la mia lingua nato, la lingua comune è, ma è stato il mio più appreso uno." His offering to learn it really did make her smile, he was so sweet. "Che ne dici di lavorare sulla lingua comune, e poi ci espanderemo?" She was teasing him of course, it wasn't like his English was impossible to understand. A bit broken, but it was easy enough to understand what he was going on about. When the question switched to Vyper, she shrugged her shoulders in a casual manner. "Da quando è nato, ma io a differenza di essere bloccato. Sono entrato per un amico, ma trascorrendo la maggior parte del mio tempo in viaggio. Inverno mi ha fatto intrappolato così sto cercando di ottenere insetti fuori delle mie zampe." Her nose wrinkled when she heard herself, that wasn't exactly what she was trying to say. "E 'come un prurito che non può essere graffi, sai?" Okay so maybe she was a little more than rusty... but it was good to practice! It wasn't every day that she ran into others that even spoke more than the more common language. "SPEAK"

Vincenzo had never heard of "Dutch" and he wondered where in the world Jaelle was from. How far had she travelled to come here? In truth the nation of her birth could've been right next door to Boreas and Vinny would not have known the difference. However, she corrected herself, stating that it was the common tongue that was her native language. Dutch just one of many languages she seemed to know. "Vi piace imparare le lingue? Non ho mai incontrato nessuno che parla più di due"

He nodded as Jaelle suggest working on the 'common' tongue first. He smirked at the name of it. It was not so common where he was from! Though, he was not well-travelled so perhaps this strange language really was the common tongue and he'd just never really encountered much of it before traveling to Boreas.

Vincenzo was impressed that Jaelle had been with the pack since the beginning, even if the pack was quite young yet. He chuckled a little as she mentioned wanting to get the bugs out of her paws. He understood what she meant though and nodded. "Lo so! Vyper è stato quello di calmare ultimamente. Spero Xephyris torna presto." He did not know the struggles of leadership but he was used to a tighter chain of command under the Fratelli Rossi. This new style was more lackadaisical than he was used to.

"Quindi, questo linguaggio comune, dove dovremmo cominciare?"


"Speech"